Oxbow, Titletown Five, Will Take Charge updates

Friday, May 17 -- With two Hall of Famers keeping watch over him Friday morning, Titletown Five seemed to be getting an inordinate amount of attention for a potential 30-1 shot in the field for Preakness 138.

Five-time Preakness winner D. Wayne Lukas arrived at Pimlico Race Course with his three-horse contingent of Oxbow, Titletown Five and Will Take Charge at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday following a grueling 12 1/2-hour van ride from Churchill Downs.

"I feel good, just being in it," said NFL Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, the ex-Green Bay Packer and part-owner of the colt who represents the "Five" in Titletown Five. "I've been here many times. This is the first time one of the horses I own is in a race of this magnitude. I'm going to be very interested in watching him run. We're gonna make a run somewhere."

Hornung, who is the same age (77) as his Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, knows he may not have many more chances like this on racing's big stage. And as a native of Kentucky Derby hometown Louisville, Hornung has always had more than a passing interest in horse racing, even when he was setting records on the gridiron at Notre Dame and helping the Packers win an NFL championship in 1965.

"I've been to the Derby many times; I've been here many times; I've been to New York and Saratoga many times," said the former "Golden Boy," who along with ex-teammate Willie Davis and Lukas comprise the majority of the Tiznow colt's ownership. "This is a real thrill for me to be involved."

Titletown Five is a colt that he and Lukas had high hopes for as a 2-year-old, but following his maiden victory at Churchill Downs in October, the $250,000 purchase was found to have bone chips in a front knee that required surgery.

"If Titletown Five didn't get that chip in his knee, he was going to be one of the really good horses," Lukas said. "I was devastated; he'd won by nine or 10 lengths. He's sound, but we lost the whole winter conditioning and everything."

Titletown Five is winless in three starts this season, but it does bear mentioning that as a 2-year-old he got the best of Kentucky Derby winner Orb in a maiden race at Saratoga.

"He beat Orb," said Lukas, who is seeking his sixth Preakness win with a three-horse contingent that includes Oxbow and Will Take Charge. "It was early in his career and he's (Orb) a late-developing horse, but we still beat him."

Hornung was there that August afternoon when Titletown Five finished second and Orb was third in one of Saratoga’s key maiden races of 2012.

"It gives me an idea that we've got a good horse," Hornung said. "I think we can do it if we run our race. If you do it once, you can do it again."Lukas pronounced all three horses ready for the assignment after Friday morning gallops at Pimlico. Julien Leparoux will be aboard Titletown Five for the first time Saturday.

"I was really pleased with what I saw today," Lukas said. "They've gotten better every day since they got here (Tuesday)."

Two more Hall of Famers, jockey Gary Stevens and Mike Smith, will have the mounts on Oxbow and Will Take Charge, respectively. Between them, they have won the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown three times, Stevens won aboard Silver Charm (1997) and Point Given (2001) and Smith with Prairie Bayou (1993). Stevens was retired when Oxbow began his racing career at Saratoga last August.

"When I saw Gary around January or February he was fit and I thought he looked better on a horse in the morning than prior to his retirement when his knees were bothering him," Lukas said. "He just looked better and seemed in a better place. There's no doubt about his talent, so I said to him, 'Gary, I've got a couple 3-year-olds that are coming along. Watch them, and if one of them looks like it's going to be good enough, I'd have no problem putting you on.'"

Still, Stevens was attempting a comeback at the age of 50 in a sport where most of the competitors were 20 or 30 years younger.

"He started winning a few races at Santa Anita and I thought, 'Hell, let's go,'" Lukas said. "I was telling somebody else who was criticizing me for putting him on: 'You know any other combination that's got seven Derbys between them?' Mike Smith has been good for us, too. The experience thing is huge in these races. It really shows up in these big ones -- pressure. These young guys they say, 'Aw, it doesn't bother me,' but it bothers them. And this may be more of a jockey's race than the other two. I think they better have their heads screwed on here."

With saddling a third of the field, he feels good about his chances.

"I only like to come here if I'm competitive," he said. "I think we are. Orb's the best horse, let's face it. This year it's exciting for me. I've got a lot of passion for it."

Thursday, May 16 -- D. Wayne Lukas has been hovering around history since the start of the millennium, and the Hall of Fame trainer is scheduled to have three chances in Saturday's Preakness Stakes to finally set the record for most Triple Crown successes.The former basketball coach, who traded his whistle for a saddle in the 1970s, has been tied with the legendary "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons for the most wins in Triple Crown races (13) by any trainer in history since Commendable won the 2000 Belmont Stakes.On Saturday, Lukas has one of his best opportunities in recent years with a three-pronged attack in the nine-horse field."It would be nice to get over that, but the guy that holds it with me is pretty special in this game," Lukas said Thursday morning after Oxbow, Titletown Five and Will Take Charge returned from morning gallops at Pimlico. "I think we’ll get over it. I don't know if it'll be Saturday, but there's an excellent chance we'll get that 14th one somewhere down the line. You know, though, the sooner the better."Lukas has had pretty good numbers in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, having saddled five winners from 37 starters -- more than any trainer in history.He'd like nothing more than to add a sixth Preakness, which would put the 77-year-old Wisconsin native one behind turn-of-the-19th-century trainer Robert Walden. Lukas is tied for second with Bob Baffert (Govenor Charlie) and Thomas Healey, whose last winner came during the Great Depression."The Preakness is special to me," Lukas said, while admitting he'd be in favor of Orb winning if he can't get the prize for one of his three ownership groups on Saturday. "As a trainer, you think more or less of achieving something for a certain client. You don't run against the other guy or even the other horse. You're pretty much centered on your own program."Titletown Five, owned by some former Green Bay Packers including Paul Hornung and Willie Davis, would be a long shot -- already at 30-1 in the morning line. Will Take Charge was rated at 12-1 and Oxbow, who was sixth in the Derby, was made 15-1."They had a good morning," Lukas said after dismounting his pony. "I like the way the track's playing. I think it's very fair for everybody. I was real comfortable with it. I like it when they go by and you can't hear them."Lukas said he was a bit miffed and was joking with track handicapper Frank Carulli after Mylute was made the second choice behind Orb in the morning-line odds."I personally don't think Mylute should be the second choice in the race, unless they bet on Rosie (Napravnik)," Lukas said. "I think Will Take Charge and Oxbow are about equal and their odds are going to fall somewhere between 5-1 and 8-1. The other horse is going to be a long shot, probably one of the longest shots on the board."Oxbow and Will Take Charge ran 1-2 in the Rebel (G2) in March at Oaklawn Park. Will Take Charge was a troubled eighth in the Kentucky Derby behind Oxbow's pace-pressing sixth on the sloppy, sealed track. He expects both to run well here."Will Take Charge is 17 hands," Lukas said. "He and Orb have a similar style. They're not stop-and-start horses, so he didn't get to run his race in Louisville. Oxbow is a gutsy little horse. I think they both had a chance to be part of the equation in the Derby."And Lukas readily admits the percentages are in his favor with a third of the field being saddled by a guy who knows how to win this race."I feel comfortable with the field," he said. "It only takes one horse to spoil your day."

Wednesday, May 15 -- Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent his three-pronged Preakness threat onto the track early Wednesday morning for some light exercise, and he was more than pleased with the way they handled the 12-hour van ride the day before.

"They were great," said the 77-year-old Lukas, who is looking for his sixth Preakness victory. "I was pleasantly surprised this morning. I did a little with them, just jogged them and tried to let them get their energy level up, but they were excellent out there this morning. I was really surprised at how well they shipped."

Oxbow and Will Take Charge have an experience edge over Titletown Five and are coming off sixth- and eighth-place finishes in the Kentucky Derby, but Lukas gives all three a chance to be factors in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

"If you look at the aerial view of the Derby and study it, Will Take Charge ran one hell of a race," Lukas said of the Rebel Stakes (G2) winner. "He was totally stopped. He was moving probably better than Orb at that point. Whether he'd have finished with him is speculation at best. I think he'd have been second. He's not a stop-and-start horse."

Oxbow chased the frantic pace set by Palace Malice in Kentucky and still managed to hold on for sixth while most of the others who went out early faded to the back of the pack. Lukas said he has come back to himself quickly despite the demanding Derby trip.

"He worked this week at Churchill (four furlongs in 49 4/5 seconds) and Gary (Stevens) said that was the most relaxed, the best he's ever had him work, so he's a factor in here," Lukas said. "With the sixteenth of a mile shorter and everything, he'll be OK."

Stevens, who rode both Oxbow and Titletown Five in their respective last starts, will be replaced on Titletown Five by Julien Leparoux. Jon Court has been replaced by Mike Smith on Will Take Charge. Lukas said he wasn’t displeased with Court’s performance.

"I thought if we could get three world-class Eclipse (-winning) riders, I'd be remiss if I didn’t give my clients that opportunity," Lukas said. "I ran it by them, and they were excited about it. Nothing against Jon Court; I rode him all spring with good luck, but I think it's the coach in me. I always tell those riders we're just going to date, we're not going to get married."

The unknown commodity of the Lukas trio is Titletown Five, co-owned by the trainer and two former Green Bay Packers (Paul Hornung and Willie Davis) among others. The colt's name comes from the nickname for Green Bay and Hornung’s uniform number.

"He's a very talented horse," Lukas said of the son of Tiznow, who ran fourth in the Derby Trial (G3) after a ninth-place fade in the Louisiana Derby (G2). "He's been behind all spring, but he's got a lot of ability. He's a beautiful mover; he's got a high cruising speed. Willie Davis and Paul Hornung and those guys -- it means a lot to probably be in the main arena here, and I own part of him, too, so I thought it was worth a shot."

Lukas is hoping Titletown Five will be able to display a bit more restraint in the Preakness.

"I think Leparoux on him will get him to probably be forwardly placed, but not like his last two," Lukas said. "He got in a speed duel in the Derby Trial and it really was ridiculous in the Louisiana Derby."

Lukas, who has won 13 Triple Crown races to tie "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons for the all-time record, knows he is facing an uphill task, but he did it before here with a Derby also-ran, Tabasco Cat (6th in 1994).

"I think Orb's the horse to beat," Lukas said. "He has to come back a little bit to us and we have to move forward. I'm not running for second, however. That's not my style. If I had my choice, I'd like to see 30 of them in here because I'd know Orb would be behind at least 25 of them. I think if he gets by this one he's got a great (Triple Crown) chance."

Tuesday, May 14 -- Trainer D. Wayne Lukas' Pimlico contingent that included three candidates for Saturday’s Preakness leaves the Churchill Downs barn area early Tuesday morning by van for Baltimore, arriving at Pimlico before 5 p.m.

Monday, May 13 -- Five-time Preakness-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent Oxbow and Will Take Charge, his sixth- and eighth-place Kentucky Derby finishers, respectively, to the track for four-furlong workouts Monday morning at Churchill Downs.

After the renovation break, Oxbow, ridden by jockey Gary Stevens, came out to work a half-mile in 49 4/5 seconds, the 22nd fastest of 40 for the morning at the distance. The son of Awesome Again posted fractions of :12 3/5, :24 3/5 and :37 3/5 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:03 3/5.

Earlier, Will Take Charge, who is scheduled to be ridden by Mike Smith, worked a half-mile in 48 2/5 seconds under exercise rider Rudy Quevedo. Will Take Charge posted fractions of :12 3/5, :24 1/5 and :36 for the work that ranked sixth fastest of 40 at the distance.

Titletown Five, who will be ridden in the Preakness by Julien Leparoux, was the first Lukas horse on the track Monday and he open-galloped 1 1/4 miles with a blowout down the stretch that was not recorded by clockers. Quevedo was aboard.

"We varied them a bit, but it was pretty much what I wanted," said Lukas of Oxbow and Will Take Charge. "Coming off a tough race in the mud (in the Derby), the tendency sometimes is to do too much."

Stevens, a two-time Preakness winner, liked Oxbow's work.

"Time was not a factor and this was more about his mind and keeping him relaxed for the trip (to Maryland) tomorrow," said Stevens, who tasted Preakness success with Silver Charm (1997) and Point Given (2001). "The main thing is to keep him happy. I think I am sitting on the right horse with the right style."

Stevens envisions a different pace scenario from the Derby, in which Palace Malice led the field through the mud in fractions of :22.57, :45.33 and 1:09.80.

"I do not think the pace will be the same," Stevens said. "You may want to forgive some of the horses for their races in the Derby. I thought Goldencents would be with us on the lead and he was outside of us and getting all the kickback. At the five-eighths pole, I could see that Kevin (Krigger on Goldencents) was not comfortable and he could not go inside, because that is where I was, and he had two horses on his outside.

"I think you can throw that race out and I respect all of the opposition."

Lukas said his Pimlico contingent would start loading at the barn at 3 a.m. Tuesday and expects to be at Old Hilltop around 4 p.m. The Hall of Fame conditioner will be on the van with his horses.

"I go with them whether we fly or go by van," Lukas said. "I just like to be with them."

Sunday, May 12 -- Oxbow and Will Take Charge, the sixth- and eighth-place finishers, respectively, in the Kentucky Derby jogged two miles at Churchill Downs and Titletown Five, fourth in the Derby Trial (G3) in his most recent start, galloped 1 1/2 miles Sunday morning.

"Oxbow and Will Take Charge will work in the morning and Titletown Five will breeze through the stretch," trainer D. Wayne Lukas said.

The Lukas Pimlico contingent that figures to be eight strong is scheduled to leave Louisville by van at 3 a.m. Tuesday.